To address malnutrition among school children, the Odisha government is planning to offer 200 ml of fortified milk in school mid-day meals through NDDB’s ‘Gift Milk programme. In the first phase, as many as 1,184 students will benefit from this scheme.
In a significant development, the Odisha government is planning to add 200 ml of fortified milk to mid-day meals for school children. The move comes after a day President Droupadi Murmu virtually launched a ‘Gift Milk’ initiative of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) for the Odisha State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation (OMFED) at Rairangpur in Mayurbhanj district. According to Odisha’s Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Minister Gokulananda Mallik, the initiative aims to address malnutrition among children by providing 200 ml of milk fortified with Vitamin A & D on school days.
The ‘Gift Milk’ programme was launched on Monday in 29 schools in Rairangpur. While giving a brief about this initiative, the minister stated that as many as 1,184 students, spread over 200 villages of the Rairangpur sub-division of Mayurbhanj district, will benefit from the NDDB’s ‘Gift Milk programme in the first phase, which was introduced on a pilot basis. “The initiative will be extended to other parts of the state later,” the minister said.
Around 44.5 lakh children are being served
According to the data shared by the minister, Presently, around 44.5 lakh children of 51,500 primary and upper primary schools are being served with cooked food under the mid-day meal scheme. The minister also said 3,000 high-quality cows procured from Gujarat are to be distributed among dairy farmers in Mayurbhanj. The government has planned to spend Rs 38 crore under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission launched by NDDB in Mayurbhanj.
Plan to make dairy farmers self-sufficient
The minister said the objective of the initiative is to make dairy farmers self-sufficient and ensure a stable rural economy. He also said that the state aims to develop cattle wealth in the state under the ‘Mukshya Mantri Kamadhenu Yojana’, a five-year initiative with a budget of Rs 1,423.47 crore. The objective of the scheme is to boost milk production in the state, he said. This scheme will support small dairy units, provide subsidised calf feed, enhance livestock insurance coverage, and strengthen dairy cooperatives, he added.
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